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THE CONVENTION 

THAT NOMINATED 

LINCOLN 



AN ADDRESS DELIVERED BEFORE THE 
CHICAGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY ON MAY 
18. 1916, THE FIFTY-SIXTH ANNIVERSARY 
OF LINCOLN'S NOMINATION FOR THE 
PRESIDENCY 



By P. Orman Ray, ph. d. 

PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE 
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 



THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS 
CHICAGO. ILLINOIS 










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THE CONVENTION 

THAT NOMINATED 

LINCOLN 



AN ADDRESS DELIVERED BEFORE THE 
CHICAGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY ON MAY 
18, 1916, THE FIFTY-SIXTH ANNIVERSARY 
OF LINCOLN'S NOMINATION FOR THE 
PRESIDENCY 



By PkOrman Ray, ph. d. 

PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE 
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 




THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS 
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 



Copyright 1916, by 
Chicago Historical Society 



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£-7 5 7 
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INTRODUCTION 



Our national nominating conventions are unique : nothing 
of the kind exists in any other country. As great national 
spectacles they attract people from all sections of the 
country and even from Europe. 

In the history of the Republican party, three national 
conventions stand pre-eminent; that of 1860, which gave to 
the country Abraham Lincoln; that of 1880, in which was 
fought the great battle over the attempt to nominate 
General Grant for a third term; and that of 1912, the sad 
story of which is all too familiar to some of us. Each of 
these outstanding conventions was held in the City of 
Chicago, and that of 1860 was the first national nominating 
convention ever held in that city. The selection of Chicago 
as the convention city was itself significant of the important 
part which the young Northwest had come to play in 
national politics and has continued to play ever since. 

In preparing this lecture, I have tried largely to forget 
what is contained in the accounts of this convention appear- 
ing in the standard histories, and have tried to present a 
story of the convention based almost wholly upon the 
official record and upon material gleaned from the Chicago 
newspapers, which so far as I am aware have not been 
used by the authors of the histories just mentioned. I shall 
try to relate the story of the convention so far as practicable 
in the language of contemporary eyewitnesses. Conse- 



quently I disclaim all responsibility for striking superlatives, 
glowing metaphors, incandescent adjectives and superheated 
imaginative passages written in the midst of convention 
excitement. The lecture makes no claim to being a con- 
tribution : " ' -.e. but is more nearly what my colleague 
of the E~_-r_^ ^ ._ _rtinent might caJl "a study in local 
color." 

To the oiScials of The Xewberr\* Libraiy and the Chicago 
Historical Socier>' I wish to express my gratitude for cour- 
teously placing at my sendee the newspaper files in their 
respective libraries. 

P. OR21AS R.\Y. 

E\*anston. 
22 Mav. 1916. 



THE COX^TXTIOX TiL\T X0:MIXA7Z1 
LIXCOLX 

The Republican Xational Convention of 1860 not only 
has the distinctic r. :' '; ring the first convention to have had 
telegraphic instnnnenis brought into the convention building 
for the use of newspaper correspondents, but it has the 
additional distinction of being the nrst national convention 
to meet in a ': ^ - v erected for its use. the fani: us 

Chicago Wigvvani. To us the Wigvram would seem much 
like a doU-h"/:: '" comparison with the present Coliseum: 
but to the "■ - ::" delegates and thousands of spec- 

tators wh _ etween the 12th and ISth of iNlay. 

IS'^0. it was indeed a mar\"eL It was a ■"substantial 
wooden structure."" two stories high, located at the southeast 
comer of Lake and ^Market streets, with a frontage of 
ISO feet on [Market, and one hundred feet on Lake street. 
"This gigantic structure, the largest audience room in the 
United States"' in 1S60 was thus considerably smaller than 
the indoor athletic field in the Patten gymnasium at Xorth- 
weste-n University, or about the size of the Coliseimi Annex. 

The Wigwam owed its erecrion to "the spirit of liberalitv" 
and welcome"" with which Chicago RepubHcans prepared 
to receive the first national nominating convendon to come 
to their cits*. The work of constnicdon was begun eariy 
in April, but. although rapidly pushed, the strucnire was 
barel}- ready for the use of the convendon when it assembled 
May l(3th. The entire cost of this unprecedentedly large 
building was the modest sum of between $5000 and S'^<>'^1. 



The interior arrangement of the Wigwam was quite 
unlike our modern convention halls. I have tried to 
reproduce, with slight additions, the only contemporary 
plan of the interior that I have ever seen.^ This plan and 
the facts in the description which follow are taken from 
contemporary Chicago newspapers. In planning the build- 
ing, advantage was taken of the height of the grade on both 
Market and Lake streets, about ten feet at that time, to 
facilitate the construction of a series of wide platforms or 
landings descending from the three entrances on IVIarket 
street to the enclosed space for musicians in front of the 
stage. Upon this series of landings the spectators stood 
throughout the different sessions, for no seats were provided 
for the hoi polloi. 

From these landings a good view was had of the deep 
platform or stage extending the entire width of the building. 
At each end of the stage were ample committee rooms. 
Four hundred and sixty-odd delegates and something like 
sixty newspaper correspondents were seated upon this 
stage ; and here it was that the real drama of the convention 
was enacted. The location of each state delegation was 
indicated, as at the present time, by standards bearing 
placards with the names of the several states printed thereon. 

Running around three sides of the building was a gallery, 
so pitched that "from every part a perfect view" of the 
speaker's stand could be had. This gallery seating from 
ten to twelve hundred persons, was reserved for ladies 
and the gentlemen who accompanied them, and probably 
was provided with seats; for an advertisement had appeared 
in the Tribune of May 8th requesting all persons who had 
suitable seats to contribute them for use in this gallery on 
this occasion. The total capacity of the building was 
variously estimated by contemporaries at from six to 
fifteen thousand. 

'This sketch appeared in the Press and Tribune for May 14, 1860. 

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LAKE STREET (100 Feet) 



The interior was left rough and unplaned, and the wall 
back of the platform was the brick wall of the adjoining 
store. But this rough interior, we are told, was transformed 
by "the light, graceful and entirely successful handiwork" 
of the Republican ladies of Chicago. Their assistance had 
been invoked by such formal invitations as the following 
which appeared in the newspapers as the Wigwam ap- 
proached completion: 

" To the Republican Ladies of Chicago: The Building Com- 
mittee of the 'Republican Wigwam,' in connection with a com- 
mittee of the Young Men's Republican Club, being desirous 
of appropriately decorating the building now nearly completed, 
would respectfully ask any ladies who may be interested in the 
cause, and who are willing to contribute their taste and labor 
in such decoration, to meet the above committee at the Wigwam 
* * * * on Friday afternoon at three p. m. Any persons who may 
be willing to loan us decorations are requested to communicate, 
or meet with us at the above time. 

Peter Page, Chairman Building Committee, 
E. S. Williams, Chairman Committee Young Men's 
Republican Club." 

Other invitations, like the following, were much less 
formal: "The Republican girls of the city are invited to 
meet tomorrow at the Wigwam at three p. m. to assist in 
decorating it for the Convention." 

Still another and later notice urged the ladies to come 
"armed and equipped with those formidable weapons, 
needles, thimbles, scissors, etc., etc.," and added that 
"several young men can be employed putting up decora- 
tions, if they will apply at the same time and place," bringing 
"tacks and hammers." 

A goodly number must have responded to these appeals, 
for the editor of the Daily Journal visiting the Wigwam 
two days before the dedication, found "a bevy of ladies as 
busy as ants, decorating, sewing, and arranging wreaths 



and festoons." These, with the assistance of male volunteers 
and painters, succeeded in relie\ing or concealing the bare- 
ness of the rough-finished interior. Around the front of 
the gallery, for example, were placed coats of arms of the 
several states, and between them wreaths of evergreen. 
The gallery pillars and supports were painted white and 
WTeathed with evergreens, and from each to each were 
twined draperies in red, white and blue, with artificial 
flowers and miniature national flags. 

The chief decoration was naturally bestowed upon the 
stage. The brick wall at the rear was painted and divided 
into arched panels in which were colossal statuar}^ paint- 
ings of Liberty, Plenty, Justice, etc. The pillars supporting 
the roof and forming a continuous row along the brick wall, 
were twined with evergreens and connected wath red, 
white and blue streamers, looped in the middle with ever- 
greens and flowers. On the side of these pillars toward 
the audience, busts of distinguished men were supported 
by figures of Atlas. At the west end of the stage hung 
"the elegant and costly standard of the Young Men's 
Republican Club of New York. It bore its blazoned stars 
and legend all complete, save for two blanks following the 

lines, 'For President For Vice-President 

' These blanks," said the Tribune, "were elo- 
quent with a purpose, the purpose of the entire convention, 
all ready for the campaign but waiting for the names. ^' 
"When, for the first time the effect of gas light was added," 
to these decorations on the evening of the dedication, 
"the effect was briUiant in the extreme;" and "everybody, 
citizens and strangers, delegates and outsiders, .... 
all fell in love with the Great Wigwam .... and its 
praises were on more than half a score thousand tongues." 

But apparently the impression created by the Wigwam 
upon those attending the convention was not conveyed to 



non-attendants by the pictures of the structure which 
appeared in some of the Eastern newspapers. The local 
pride of the editor of the Journal seems to have been especi- 
ally offended by the illustration which appeared in Har- 
per^s Weekly. Under the caption, ''A Disgrace/' he says, 
"Harper's Weekly for this week comes to us containing a 
picture of the Wigwam and one of Chicago, and more 
miserable abortions never appeared in a pictorial paper. 
They are a disgrace to the artist and paper both. The 
view of Chicago is a caricature upon our city, and we hope 
henceforth if we must be pictured, that it may be done by 
some other pictorial paper possessing artists of some degree 
of capability." 

The formal opening of the Wigwam was set for the Satur- 
day evening preceding the opening of the convention. 
''This evening," said the Journal of May 12th, "the Repub- 
lican Wigwam, built by the Republicans of Chicago . . . 
will be dedicated to the cause of freedom with appropriate 
ceremonies, music, speaking, singing, and glorification 
generally will be the order of the night . . . The 
council fires will be lighted in the hut. Come up and gather 
round for an old fashioned talk. Come all and put a 
shoulder to the wheel, for tonight the ball begins to roll 
and the signal guns of the approaching contest between 
Freedom and Slavery will be fired. Let every man be at 
his post." 

And we may believe that every man was at his post 
for in spite of the admission fee of twenty-five cents charged 
to defray the debt of about $2000 on the building, "at an 
early hour the vast structure was crowded with an enthus- 
iastic throng of people, a respectable portion being ladies. 
The stage, galleries and the body of the house," runs a 
perfervid newspaper account, "were completely packed 
with the thousands who had come up to this preliminary 



meeting of the campaign, to dedicate a new rallying place 
during the coming and long wished for contest between 
freedom and slavery. The sight was a grand and inspiring 
one; the noble structure, a voluntary gift to freedom; 
the sea of faces beaming with delight and kindling with 
the patriotic ardor of the occasion; the intermingling 
draperies, flags, flowers and festoons; the busts of departed 
sages and heroes benignantly looking down upon a scene 
which they had dimly prophesied but never seen; the peeling 
music; all conspired to form a glorious omen of the future — 
a prophetic sign, large with golden promise of a glorious 
harvest of truth and right next fall . . ." 

Among the speakers on this occasion was a Mr. Johns, 
a delegate-at-large from Iowa, "a plain, homespun western 
farmer, but sound to the core." He had walked 150 miles 
to get to a railroad that he might come to the convention. 
His "brief, practical speech, filled with happy hits, kept 
the crowd in a continual roar." He was followed by 
Henry S. Lane of Indiana, the recently nominated Repub- 
lican candidate for governor, and by Governor MorriU 
of Maine; and finally by that old anti-slavery war-horse, 
Joshua R. Giddings of Ohio, who took the stand ''amid 
the most deafening applause." 

The next day, being Sunday, two religious services were 
held in the Wigwam conducted by Presbyterian and Baptist 
pastors; while on Monday and Tuesday evenings large 
crowds again came to political rallies where their enthus- 
iasm was stirred by music and oratorical pyrotechnics. 

Such were some of the preparations for "a convention 
pregnant with momentous interest to this country;" and 
so the convention week opened upon a city rapidly filling 
with strangers and delegates from every part of the Union, 
and "resonant with the bustle and activity consequent 
thereupon." Long before the convention opened the hotels 



were "crowded with politicians, lobby men and delegates 
caucusing, comparing notes and arranging preliminaries." 
And yet, said the Journal, "these are but a handful to the 
immense crowds yet to come who will tax our municipal 
accommodations to the utmost. But when the hotels 
fail, then without doubt our citizens will throw open their 
doors and extend their hospitalities cordially. The latch 
strings are all out and we can take care of all creation." 

And Chicago's forty-two hotels, with rates from $1.50 
to $2.50 a day, were indeed taxed to the limit to take care 
of even a fraction of all creation. Even billiard tables 
were m.ade to serve as beds. One observer going the rounds 
about midnight during the convention found no less than 
one hundred and thirty persons in one hotel glad to find a 
chance to repose on the tops of billiard tables. Registers 
were opened for those private citizens who were willing to 
entertain visitors. Newspapers contained many notices 
for meetings of former citizens of California, New York, 
Pennsylvania or the New England States, to organize as 
sub-committees on the reception and entertainment of 
delegates and visitors from their native States. These 
committees, as well as the political marching clubs of young 
men, known as the Wide-Awakes, made it their business 
to meet delegations upon their arrival at the railway 
stations and escort them to their headquarters. Thus, 
when the Pennsylvania delegation of six hundred arrived 
during the small hours of Tuesday morning, accompanied 
by bands from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, they marched 
in procession escorted by the Light Guard Band of Chicago 
and "the Sons of Pennsylvania" to the Briggs House where 
the majority of the delegation were quartered. There they 
were "received by their countr>^men wdth open arms." 

As early as Saturday evening, some of the most distin- 
guished delegates began to arrive, for example, Horace 



Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune who came, not as a 
delegate from New York, for he was bitterly hostile to the 
Seward-Weed machine, but as a delegate by proxy from 
Oregon. From the moment of his arrival, he devoted his 
energies to preventing if possible the nomination of Seward, 
believing that Edward Bates of Missouri would make a 
stronger candidate for the party. The same day Governor 
Morgan of New York, chairman of the National Committee, 
arrived, and Thurlow Weed also, Seward's campaign man- 
ager, the first Republican boss of New York State and the 
ablest political tactician that had appeared in American pol- 
itics up to that time. Governor Morgan made the Tremont 
House his headquarters, while Weed established himself 
at the Richmond House, much after the manner of Jethro 
Bass as depicted in Churchill's Coniston. Here Weed 
was later found by Carl Schurz, chairman of the Seward 
delegation from Wisconsin, surrounded not by political 
luminaries of the first magnitude, but by a crowd of satellites, 
some of whom did not strike Schurz as desirable companions 
of New York politicians — apparently men of the baser sort 
whom Weed had brought with him to aid in doing his work. 
"WTiat that work consisted in, I could guess," says Schurz, 
"from the conversations I was permitted to hear, for they 
talked very freely about the great services they had rendered 
or were going to render. They had marched, they had 
treated members of other delegations with no end of cham- 
pagne and cigars, to win them for Seward, if not as their 
first, then at least as their second, choice, to be voted for 
on the second or third ballot. They had hinted to this 
man and that man supposed to wield some influence, that 
if he could throw that influence for Seward, he might, in 
case of success, count upon proper 'recognition.' They had 
spent money freely and let everybody understand that there 
was a great lot more to spend. Among these men Thurlow 



Weed moved as a great captain, with ceaseless activity and 
noiseless step, receiving their reports and giving new in- 
structions in his peculiar whisper, now and then taking one 
into a corner of the room for secret talk, or disappearing 
with another through a side door for transactions still more 
secret."^ 

It was not until Monday and Tuesday, however, that the 
crowds really began to pour in upon Chicago, making the 
railroad depots "beat like great hearts with their living tide; 
Republicans from mountains Green, Blue and White; 
Republicans from the woods of Maine, the green valleys of 
all New England and 'the wild where rolls the Oregon;' 
Republicans from the Golden Gate and the old plantation; 
Republicans from everywhere. What seems a brilliant 
festival, is but the rally for a battle; it is an army with 
banners." 

The receptions accorded some of the larger Eastern 
delegations upon their arrival furnished themes for much 
reportorial rhetoric. A special train over the Michigan 
Central brought the Massachusetts and other New England 
delegations. Long before its arrival Monday evening, we 
read that "Michigan Avenue, Lake Street and all the 
avenues leading to the depot were thronged with an eager 
crowd of all New Englanders and citizens, all expectant of 
the arrival of their friends and old neighbors. Michigan 
avenue was finely illuminated, and as the train neared 
12th street, a brilliant rocket announced it to the crowd. 
Another rocket streamed from Jackson street; a cannon 
boomed across the Basin; the bands struck up, and hearty 
cheers from the thousands of New England throats welcomed 
the train now nearing the depot. And the Wide-Awakes, 
with gleaming torches, as well as the crowd, took up their 
line of march for the depot. The immense interior of this 

^Schurz. Reminiscences II, 176. 

13 



terminal (five hundred feet in length by one hundred and 
sixty-seven in width) was soon packed with a vast throng. 
The train came to a standstill, and then the crowd with 
clapping hands and huzzas welcomed their old friends with 
a genuine New England warmth and zeal. Gilmore's 
band from Boston, which was aboard, stepped out upon the 
platform and played an air in splendid style, which was 
received with hearty cheers, after which the delegates 
were escorted to their various hotels." 

At the same time, the Michigan Southern train was 
arriving in another part of the city with the New York 
and other delegations. This train, so a newspaper an- 
nounced the next day, "accomplished a feat in railroad 
annals that will long stand unsurpassed, if indeed it is safe 
and desirable" to repeat the performance. This great feat 
consisted in covering the distance between Buffalo and 
Chicago in fifteen hours and a half. "What," said this 
paper, "would the pioneers of less than a quarter of a century 
ago have thought of that?" 

The character and behavior of the New York contingent 
of Seward "boosters" were subjects of more comment in 
the newspapers than was true of any other delegation. 
"The New Yorkers here," says one eyewitness, "are of a 
class unknown to the Western Republican politicians. 
They can drink more whiskey, swear as loud and long, 
sing as bad songs, and 'get up and howl' as ferociously 
as any crowed of Democrats you ever heard or heard of. 
They are opposed, as they say, to being 'too damned 
virtuous.' They hoot at the idea that Seward could not 
sweep all the northern states, and swear that he would 
have a party in every slave state in less than a year that 
would clean out the disunionists from shore to shore. . . 
At night most of them who are not engaged in caucusing, 
are doing what ill- tutored youths call 'raising hell gen- 



erally.' Wherever you find them, the New York poHticians, 
of whatever party, are a pecuHar party." The leader of 
these New York roustabouts, it may be interesting to add, 
was no less a distinguished personage than one Tom Hyer, 
''a noted bruiser" or prize fighter of that day. 

But delegates, alternates and hired boosters constituted 
only a small part of the strangers drawn to Chicago from 
all parts of the country. Special rates granted by Eastern 
railroads of $15 for the round trip from Buffalo, tickets 
good for fifteen days, duplicated after much newspaper 
prodding by similar concessions from the Western roads, 
helped to bring together a number variously estimated by 
the glowing newspaper imagination at from 75,000 to 
125,000. In other words, Chicago's population may have 
exactly doubled in that eventful week. More than nine 
hundred newspaper men applied for seats on the platform 
as press correspondents, whereas space had been reserved 
for only sixty. 

Straw votes, as we should call them today, were taken 
on many of the trains crowded with convention visitors, 
and the results published in the newspapers from day to 
day before the convention opened. One such a ballot on a 
Michigan Central train of twelve coaches gave Seward 
210 votes to 30 for all other candidates; on a Chicago & 
Northwestern train, Seward had 127 and all others 44; 
on a Chicago & Rock Island train of ten coaches, Seward 
again led with 113 to 41 for all others. On these three 
trains no vote appears to have been cast for Lincoln; but 
on a Chicago and Milwaukee train, Seward had 368, Lincoln 
93, and all others 46; while on a New Albany & Salem 
(Indiana) train, Lincoln had 51, Seward 43 and 131 were 
divided among other candidates. This is the only record 
of a straw vote which I have found in which Lincoln's 
vote exceeded that of Seward. And it may be added that 



15 



these straw votes so overwhelmingly favorable to Seward's 
nomination, were a fair indication of the personal preference 
of probably the great majority of delegates and alternates 
when this epoch-making convention assembled at noon on 
Wednesday, May 16, Seward's fifty-ninth birthday. 

Long before the hour of opening on that day, the streets 
in the vicinity of the Wigwam were thronged by thousands 
of people who crowded around the doors and windows, 
congregated upon the bridge, sat on the curbstones, and in 
short, made use of every available inch of standing room. 
"Ladies, gentle and tender," we read, "whose loyal hands 
had wrought for days on the decorations waited long and 
patiently in the crowd to win a good seat where they might 
reap their well-earned meed." 

At half past eleven the three twenty-foot doors on Mar- 
ket street were opened, slowly at first and only to ticket 
holders, and the tide began to flow past the doorkeepers 
who stood with "Roman firmness." When all the ticket 
holders were in, the last barrier was removed at the doors, 
and one grand rush filled and packed every part of the hall. 
What a contrast to the first Republican national convention 
only four years before! Then a hall seating two thousand 
had been sufficient for both delegates and spectators: now 
the Wigwam was jammed, and perhaps twenty thousand 
people were outside clamoring for admission. No conven- 
tion had ever attracted such a crowd of onlookers. 

The reservation of the gallery for ladies accompanied 
by gentlemen naturally created a great demand among the 
men for feminine escorts. School girls were found in the 
street and given a quarter each to see a gentleman safely in. 
One girl being asked to take a gentleman to the gallery and 
offered half a dollar for so doing, excused herself by saying 
that she had already taken two men in at each of the three 
doors and was afraid of arrest if she carried the enterprise 

x6 



any further. An Irishwoman passing with a bundle of 
clothes under her arm was levied upon by an "irrepressible" 
and seeing him safely into the seats reserved for ladies and 
accompanying gentlemen, retired with her fee and bundle. 
Even an Indian squaw who was selling moccasins was 
pressed into such service. "This was more than the door- 
keepers could stand and after a spirited argument, it was 
decided that she was no lady. The young Republican 
protested indignantly against the policeman's decision, claim- 
ing equal rights for all womankind." 

While the delegates, alternates, newspaper men and spec- 
tators are finding seats or standing room, we may rapidly 
single out some of the principal actors in the drama about 
to begin. As chairman of the New York delegation, sits 
William M. Evarts, orator and lawyer of national reputa- 
tion, and later Secretary of State under President Hayes. 
Caleb B. Smith, shortly to become Lincoln's Secretary of 
the Interior, is a delegate-at-large from Indiana. John A. 
Andrew, soon to become the famous war governor of Massa- 
chusetts, is chairman of the Old Bay State delegation; while 
just behind him sits George S. Boutwell, later Secretary of 
the Treasury under President Grant. Gideon WeUes, after- 
wards Lincoln's efficient Secretary of the Navy, leads the 
Connecticut delegation as they march to their seats. Carl 
Schurz, later on Senator from Missouri and Secretary of the 
Interior, now heads the Wisconsin delegation. Old Joshua 
Giddings is over there with the Ohio delegation, and so is 
Thomas Corwin, whose eloquent oration against the war 
with Mexico some of us may have declaimed in undergrad- 
uate oratorical contests. That curious-looking, spectacled 
old gentleman, with the hair of nondescript color and 
lambrequin variety of whiskers, sitting under the Oregon 
standard, is none other than Horace Greeley, the foremost 
newspaper editor of his generation. That individual of 



17 



mammoth proportions under the Illinois standard is Judge 
David Davis, Lincoln's campaign manager; and that dele- 
gate who comes limping to his seat with the Pennsylvanians 
is Thaddeus Stevens, later the evil genius of radical Repub- 
licanism during Reconstruction. 

Unlike the Republican conventions of 1908 and 1912, in 
which senators, congressmen and national committeemen 
were conspicuous and at times offensively so, there were in 
the convention of 1860, only two senators (Simmons of 
Rhode Island and King of New York) , four representatives, 
and five national committeemen. As to the general appear- 
ance of the assembled delegations, the Chicago Times, a 
Democratic newspaper, bore reluctant testimony that "the 
representatives personally are perhaps as fine a looking body 
of men as ever assembled in the Union. No one who should 
see them would ever suppose they entertained the extrava- 
gant and dangerous political sentiments that they pretend 
to believe in." 

Contemplating the scene before him on the opening day, 
the editor of the Journal began an editorial with these 
winged words: — 

" . . . . The scene is such as a man beholds but once in a 
lifetime. Along a thousand lines of a continent's open palm, 
Wisdom and Patriotism have come pilgrims, and the men on 
two seaboards are waiting for a voice from Chicago. That 
voice will utter a name, and its syllables will flash along the 
lightning's spidery web from border to border; unnumbered 
tongues will speak it; unnumbered pens record it; hearts will 
cherish it; hands will uphold it. It will be a name to rally 
a host, to win a battle, to honor a principle, to bless a land. 
These men sitting in counsel to-day are doing no perishable 
work; no 'prentice business that journeymen will revise; 
they are making history; they are adding a chapter to the 
story of a struggle that has slavery on one side and liberty 



i8 



on the other; they are taking care of a legacy; and they will 
do their work well. ..." 

But this rhapsody was probably interrupted at ten 
minutes past twelve, for at that moment Governor Morgan 
of New York, chairman of the national committee, stepped 
forward to call the convention to order and read the call for 
the Convention. This call was significantly addressed not 
only to "the Republican electors of the several States," but 
to "the members of the People's party of Pennsylvania and 
of the Opposition party of New Jersey." These names were 
convenient aliases for the Republican party in those two 
States, and the presence of delegations from those States 
proved a decisive factor before the convention adjourned. 

After the call had been read, David Wilmot of Pennsyl- 
vania, author of the famous Wilmot Proviso of 1846 which 
we wrestled with back in the grammar school, was chosen 
temporary chairman amid "vociferous cheering," and made 
the customary "keynote speech," after which the work of 
temporary organization proceeded. Temporary secretaries 
were named, and committees on permanent organization, on 
credentials, and on rules and order of business announced. 
About two o'clock the convention voted to adjourn until 
five o'clock; but not until an astonishing amount of time 
had been consumed in discussing an invitation from the 
Chicago Board of Trade to delegates and visitors to take a 
short excursion on Lake Michigan. The excursion was to 
leave the dock at Rush street bridge, near the Richmond 
House at five o'clock, the very hour proposed for the con- 
vention to reassemble. When this invitation was iirst 
announced, Judge Goodrich of Minnesota, casting his eye 
"about this vast tabernacle, reared by the taste and munifi- 
cence of the ladies and gentlemen of Chicago, and tendered 
to the great Republican cause without money and without 
price," said he "apprehended that every delegate in the con- 

19 



vention would respond aye to the invitation , ' ' And so they did . 
But when later five o'clock had been fixed upon as the hour for 
reconvening, there ensued a discussion filling three or four 
closely printed pages of the ofiicial proceedings respecting 
the demands of courtesy toward the Board of Trade on the 
one hand, and on the other hand, the duty of the convention 
to place business before pleasure. Finally, a motion to 
reconsider the acceptance of the invitation was carried and 
upon reconsideration the matter was referred to a small 
committee to adjust with the Board of Trade which had 
already taken steps necessary for the assembling of its lake 
fleet. 

Although the interval between the first two sessions of the 
convention was of three hours duration and the audience 
at the close of the morning session had been requested to 
vacate the hall in order that the carpenters might put in 
some finishing strokes upon the Wigwam, "an immense 
crowd of people" waited during the entire intermission, 
preferring to be sure of a seat or standing room rather than 
take any chances. 

At the five o'clock session, Hon. George Ashmun of Massa- 
chusetts, was chosen permanent chairman; and Preston 
King of New York and Carl Schurz of Wisconsin were 
named a committee to escort the chairman to the platform. 
Senator King is described as "short and round as a barrel 
and fat as butter," while Schurz was very tall and very slender. 
"When," says Schurz, "the Senator and I met in the aisle 
to walk together to Mr. Ashmun's seat and thus to perform 
a function intended to be somewhat solemn, and the Senator 
looked up at me and I looked down at him, a broad smile 
overspread his jocund face, to which I could not help re- 
sponding. The suggestion of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza 
was too striking for the assembled multitudes to resist and 
a titter ran over the convention." 



20 



Mr. Ashmun was "speedily discovered to be an excellent 
presiding officer, a treasure to the convention." His clear, 
full-toned voice was one refreshing to hear amid the conven- 
tion clamors. His speech upon assuming the chair was 
described as 'Very good for the occasion, and delivered with 
just warmth enough. He was animated and yet his emo- 
tion did not get the better of him." Following that, Mr. 
Judd of Illinois "on behalf of one of the working mechanic 
Republicans of Chicago" (Mr. C. G. Thomas), presented the 
chairman with a gavel, "beautifully wrought, finished and 
ornamented with ivory and silver; and made from a piece 
of oak taken from Commodore Perry's flag-ship, the 
Lawrence. ^^ 

At this session also the permanent organization of the 
convention was perfected, and a committee on resolutions 
appointed to draft the platform. Mr. D. D. Pratt of 
Logansport, Indiana, was chosen reading clerk, and won 
"the admiration of everybody" before the convention was 
over. "His stentorian voice filled the vast hall," said the 
Tribune, "and every word that he uttered was heard to the 
farthest corner of the immense building, clear and loud above 
the din and uproar created by the myriad of excited people. 
He is endowed," continues this description, "with lungs of 
brass and clarion vocal powers, the one never tiring and the 
other superior to all competing sounds." 

At an early hour Wednesday evening the convention 
adjourned until ten o'clock the next forenoon. Many 
delegates and visitors seem to have taken advantage of the 
invitation of the Board of Trade for a sail on the Lake 
that evening. "Four vessels were lashed together and 
accommodated the excursion very pleasantly. The Garden 
City Band furnished the music." Others attended the 
exhibition drill in the Wigwam given by the United States 
Zouave Cadets. Those who, like Mr. Tracy of CaHfornia, 



31 



had come a long way and were tired from their trip and the 
excitement of the first day, doubtless retired early; but 
many others kept up the excitement nearly all night. The 
Pennsylvania delegation, to mention only one, "came out 
in procession, led off by their fine bands" with which they 
passed through the principal streets. At two o'clock in 
the morning a part of the Missouri delegation were singing 
songs in their parlor, and "there were still a crowd of 
fellows caucusing — and glasses were still clinking in the 
bar-rooms, and far down the street a band was making the 
night musical." 

As the hour drew near for the convention to reconvene 
Thursday morning, the Seward men, all wearing badges, 
formed a big and picturesque procession in front of the 
Richmond House, and marched away in a cloud of dust to 
the WigAvam, preceded by a splendidly uniformed band 
which was playing with greatest enthusiasm, "Oh, Isn't He 
a Darling," one of the popular airs of the day. The same 
immense crowds as on the first day swarmed in and around 
the Wigwam long before the opening of the forenoon session. 
"The galleries especially presented a galaxy of brilliancy 
and beauty, being densely crowded with ladies. Gilmore's 
fine Boston band discoursed their glorious music for some 
minutes previous to the opening and were rewarded with the 
enthusiastic plaudits of the immense throng present." 

The forenoon session of Thursday was devoid of any very 
exciting incidents. The only matters under consideration 
were the reports of committees on rules of order and business 
and the report of the committee on credentials. There 
was a lengthy debate upon the question of admitting dele- 
gates from the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and the 
District of Columbia and from the slave states of Mar^dand, 
Virginia, Texas and Kentucky. Ultimately the delegations 



from these states were seated, and a recess taken until 
3:15 p. m. 

At the afternoon session of Thursday the incidents of 
chief importance arose in connection with the adoption of 
the party platform. The reading of the platform reported by 
the committee on resolutions was, according to the official 
record, "interrupted by tremendous bursts of applause, 
the most enthusiastic and long-continued" being given, 
it may surprise us to know, to clauses favoring a protective 
tariff and the enactment of a free homestead law. The 
last appealed especially to the middle West and the laboring 
classes in the Eastern cities, while the former received 
tumultuous applause from Pennsylvania, then as now the 
citadel of Protectionism. Indeed, in the campaign which 
ensued comparatively little was said in Pennsylvania on 
the slavery question by Republican speakers, but great 
emphasis was laid upon the tariff plank. 

The committee which drafted the platform desired a cam- 
paign document free from radicalism and idealism; in other 
words, a platform that would appeal strongly to conser- 
vative and practical men. Consequently a few radical 
and idealistic passages appearing in the platform of 1856 
were omitted in the draft reported to the convention, 
notably that well-known quotation from the Declaration of 
Independence, beginning, "We solemnly assert the self- 
evident truths that all men are endowed by their Creator 
with certain inalienable rights," etc. This omission led 
to the only dramatic incident of the afternoon. That old, 
white-haired, battle-scarred veteran of the anti-slavery 
fight, Joshua R. Giddings, of Ohio, believing that these 
phrases expressed one of the most fundamental principles of 
the RepubUcan party, seized the first opportunity to move 
in a brief but impassioned speech the amendment of the 
platform by the re-insertion of the omitted passage. Almost 

23 



immediately, the convention rather brusquely and over- 
whelmingly voted the amendment down. Feeling humil- 
iated and wounded in his most cherished philosophy, Gid- 
dings rose and walked out of the Wigwam, while the con- 
vention proceeded to discuss other parts of the platform. 
George William Curtis, one of the youngest of the New York 
delegates and afterwards the most eloquent apostle of civil 
service reform, realizing the inexpediency of alienating the 
large number of voters who shared Giddings' radical and 
idealistic principles, soon sprang to his chair and renewed 
Giddings' amendment in slightly different form, supporting 
his motion in a short speech which even the formal record 
says was interrupted with ''tremendous cheering" and 
followed by "terrific applause." "I have to ask this con- 
vention," said Curtis, "the second national convention the 
Republican party has ever held — I have to ask this conven- 
tion whether they are prepared to go upon the record and 
before the country as voting down the words of the Declara- 
tion of Independence? I have, sir, in the amendment which 
I have introduced quoted simply and only from the Declara- 
tion of Independence. Bear in mind that in Philadelphia 
in 1856, the convention of this same great party was not 
afraid to announce those [principles] by which alone the 
Republican party lives and upon which alone the future of 
this country in the hands of the Republican party is passing. 
Now, sir, I ask gentlemen gravely to consider that in the 
amendment which I have proposed, I have done nothing 
that the soundest and safest man in all the land might not 
do; and I rise simply ... to ask gentlemen to think 
weU before, upon the free prairies of the West, in the sum- 
mer of 18G0, they dare to wince and quail before the men 
who in Philadelphia in 1776 — in Philadelphia, in the arch- 
keystone State, so amply, so nobly represented upon this 
platform today — before they dare to shrink from repeating 

24 



the words that these great men enunciated." His words 
electrified the convention, we are told, and carried such 
conviction, that the amendment was adopted. So the 
venerable Giddings was placated and returned to the con- 
vention. 

Then came the adoption of the platform as a whole by 
a unanimous vote, followed by a demonstration thus 
described by the editor of the Journal: — 

"Of all the manifestations of enthusiasm that we have 
ever witnessed anywhere or on any occasion, that in the 
Wigwam immediately succeeding the adoption of the 
platform by the convention yesterday after- 
noon was the wildest, the most spontaneous and the most 
exciting. The chairman announced the vote, 'carried 
unanimously.' In an instant, as if all hearts in the vast 
hall had been linked together by an electric cord, that 
immense concourse of people, delegates and spectators, 
numbering in all not less than fifteen thousand souls, sprang 
to their feet, and cheers upon cheers, deafening, tumultuous, 
and rapturous, went up from every throat. Men waved 
their hats, ladies their handkerchiefs, reporters their 
written pages and all screamed with very joy. This wild 
excitement was kept up for some ten or fifteen minutes. 
It was a scene that can never be forgotten by those present, 
a spectacle that was worth a man's lifetime to witness. 
It made one feel good all over. It was a manifestation of 
earnest feeling, a gushing out of the heart's fuUness, a 
demonstration of the honest and ardent sincerity of those 
who love a great Principle for its own sake . . ." 

When this demonstration had subsided, some one moved 
that the convention proceed to ballot for a candidate for 
the presidency, and had that motion prevailed, there is 
little doubt that Seward would have been nominated that 
night; but fortunately at that moment the secretary an- 
as 



nounced that the papers necessary for the purpose of keep- 
ing the tally, although prepared, were not at hand, but 
would arrive in a few minutes. Whereupon, "a Voice" 
was heard moving that "this convention adjourn until 
ten o'clock tomorrow morning." The motion was carried, 
and the morrow gave us Abraham Lincoln. 

But that result was not foreseen by all, not even by the 
best informed delegates; for at 11:40 o'clock that night 
Horace Greeley, who had been bending every energy to 
compass Seward's defeat, deemed the fight hopeless and 
telegraphed the New York Tribune, "My conclusion, from 
all that I can gather tonight is that the opposition to Gov- 
ernor Seward can not concentrate on any candidate, and 
that he will be nominated." That night champagne 
flowed freely at the Seward headquarters in the Richmond 
House in celebration of the expected victory, and Seward 
bands went the rounds serenading the different delegations 
whose support was expected. To these revellers, the battle 
seemed all over but the shouting. 

But soberer and sobering influences had been quietly 
at work against Seward ever since the delegates had begun 
to arrive in the city. Chief among these factors operating 
against Seward's nomination were Henry S. Lane, the 
Republican candidate for Governor of Indiana, and Andrew 
Gregg Curtin, the candidate of the People's party for 
Governor of Pennsylvania. In each of these states there 
existed a strong remnant of the old Native American or 
Kjiow-Nothing party of the early fifties, which would have 
none of Seward because of his former hostility to that 
party. The Indiana delegation was now actively working 
for the nomination of Lincoln, while the Pennsylvania 
delegation was pledged to support Simon Cameron. In 
New Jersey the Opposition party, as it called itself, was 
also hostile to Seward for similar reasons, and was now 

z6 



supporting William L. Dayton as the "favorite son" of 
that State. Illinois could be carried only by a candidate 
able to develop great strength against Stephen A. Douglas 
who was certain to be the candidate of the Northern wing 
of the Democratic party. Lincoln had in 1858 proved his 
superiority over Douglas as a vote-getter in Illinois in the 
senatorial campaign of that year. Accordingly the Illinois 
delegation had been instructed only a week before to vote 
for Lincoln's nomination. Murat Halstead thus described 
the situation in his despatches to the Cincinnati Com- 
mercial: ''The Pennsylvanians declare, if Seward were 
nominated they would be immediately ruined. They could 
do nothing. The majority against them would be counted 
by tens of thousands. New Jerseyites say the same thing. 
The Indianians are of the same opinion. They look broken- 
hearted at the suggestion that Seward has the inside track, 
and throw up their hands in despair. They say Lane will 
be beaten, the legislature pass utterly into the hands of the 
Democrats and the two Republican senators hoped for 
heard of no more. Illinois agonizes at the mention of 
Seward, and says he is the sting of political death. His 
nomination would kill off [Senator] Trumbull and give the 
legislature into the hands of the Democrats . . ." 

The absolute necessity for the Republicans to carry at 
least three of these states at the November election in order 
to win the Presidency, and the certainty that Seward would 
prove fatally weak in those states, convinced many delegates 
that his nomination would be inexpedient. Other dele- 
gates were convinced that Seward was generally regarded 
as too radical on the slavery question; while others were 
moved by the fact that Seward's machine in New York 
had been recently involved in more or less shady franchise 
legislation in Albany for the benefit of certain street rail- 
way magnates in New York City who, it was believed, 

27 



were contributing generously to Seward's campaign fund. 
The problem before the anti-Seward forces, therefore, was 
to find a candidate upon whom the delegations from these 
four states could unite when the time came for balloting. 
All these considerations were driven home by Lane and 
Curtin and their co-workers as they went about from one 
delegation to another the day and night preceding the 
balloting. To such efforts and to such considerations is to 
be attributed Seward's defeat on the morrow, for in all 
respects in which Seward was weak, Lincoln, although 
comparatively unknown, was shown to be strong. His 
nomination was therefore peculiarly the triumph of avail- 
ability, of party expediency over prominence and personal 
popularity. 

Years afterwards the story of just how Lincoln's nomina- 
tion was prearranged was thus related in the Century 
magazine^ by Thomas H. Dudley, a delegate-at-large from 
the State of New Jersey. About noon on Thursday, a 
caucus of the delegations from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
Indiana and Illinois was held at the Cameron headquarters 
in the Briggs House, presided over by Governor Reeder of 
Pennsylvania. After prolonged discussion it was found 
that no agreement could then be reached. But a committee 
of three from each state was appointed which met in the 
rooms of David Wilmot about six o'clock that evening and 
remained in session until eleven o'clock minutely canvassing 
the entire situation. About ten o'clock the white head of 
Horace Greeley appeared at the door and inquired if any 
agreement had been reached, and was told that nothing 
had been done. Soon after Greeley left^, the committee 
computed as accurately as possible the probable voting 
strength of the anti-Seward candidates before the con- 

^Cenlury, XL, 477. 

*It was after this that Greeley sent his telegram to the Tribune. 



28 



vention, and it was found that Lincoln was the strongest, 
that he could obtain more votes than either Cameron or 
Dayton. Thereupon, a member from New Jersey offered 
to urge upon the delegation from that state the wisdom of 
withdrawing Dayton and supporting Lincoln, provided the 
Pennsylvania members of the committee would agree to 
recommend to their state delegation the same action in the 
case of Cameron. With some reluctance this was finally 
agreed to, and the committee of twelve adjourned. About 
one o'clock Friday morning, the New Jersey delegation 
was brought together in a caucus. It was then decided to 
accept the proposal to support Lincoln after giving a com- 
plimentary vote to Dayton on the first ballot. The Penn- 
sylvania delegation met in caucus about nine o'clock 
Friday morning, and arrived at the same decision with 
respect to Cameron only a short time before the re-assem- 
bling of the convention. Thus the final arrangements were 
perfected which insured Lincoln's nomination a few hours 
later. 

The expectation amounting almost to a certainty, that 
the question which had been uppermost in the minds of 
visitors and delegates alike, ever since their arrival in 
Chicago, would be answered that day, drew an immense 
throng around the Wigwam Friday forenoon. When after 
two or three hours of waiting the doors were opened, thou- 
sands, keyed to the highest pitch of political excitement, 
poured into the building, filling every nook and cranny of 
available sitting or standing room. 

After a few comparatively unimportant matters were 
disposed of, the chairman announced that nominations were 
in order. Immediately Mr. Evarts of New York obtained 
recognition. 'T take the liberty," said he, "to name as a 
candidate to be nominated by this convention for the office 
of President of the United States, William H. Seward." 

29 



He was instantly followed by Mr. Judd of Illinois, whose 
nominating speech was equally brief : " I desire , on behalf of the 
delegation from Illinois, to put in nomination as a candidate 
for President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln of 
Illinois." In this simple fashion, with no long-winded or 
nerve-racking eulogies, two of the greatest names in the 
annals of the Republican party were placed in nomination: 
the day of "Plumed Knight" speeches was sixteen years in 
the future. Mr. Dudley of New Jersey presented the name 
of William L. Dayton, the "favorite son" of that state. 
Mr. Reeder, former governor of Kansas Territory, presented 
the name of Simon Cameron, the founder of the present 
Republican machine in Pennsylvania. Mr. Cartter of 
Ohio nominated Salmon P. Chase; F. P. Blair, Jr., of Mis- 
souri presented the name of Greeley's candidate, Edward 
Bates, afterwards the Attorney-General of Lincoln's cabinet; 
Mr. Corwdn nominated Judge John McLean of the United 
States Supreme Court. A few equally brief seconding 
speeches followed. 

Murat Halstead's description of how these nominations 
were received is too graphic to be condensed. "WTien the 
candidates were put in nomination, the only names that 
produced 'tremendous applause' were those of Seward and 
Lincoln. Everybody felt that the fight was between them, 
and yielded accordingly. Mr. Seward was first nominated 
and the applause was enthusiastic. The next nomination 
was that in behalf of Mr. Lincoln and the response was 
prodigious, rising and raging far beyond the Seward shriek. 
Presently Caleb B. Smith (of Indiana) seconded the nom- 
ination of Lincoln, and the response was absolutely terrific. 
It now became the Seward men to make another effort, 
and Blair of Michigan seconded his nomination, and 



no 



At once there rose so wild a yell, 
Within that dark and narrow dell, 
As all the fiends from Heaven that fell, 
Had pealed the banner cry of Hell. 

The effect was startling. Hundreds of persons stopped 
their ears in pain. The shouting was absolutely frantic, 
shrill and wild. No Comanches or panthers ever struck 
a higher note or gave to a scream more infernal intensity. 
Looking from the stage over the vast amphitheatre, nothing 
was to be seen below but thousands of hats — a black, 
mighty swarm of hats — flying with the velocity of hornets 
over a mass of human heads, most of the mouths of which 
as appeared were open. Above, all around the galleries, 
hats and handkerchiefs were flying in the tempest together. 
The wonder of the thing was that the Seward outside 
pressure should, so far from New York, be so powerful. 

"Now the Abe Lincoln men had to try it again, and Mr. 
Delano of Ohio, on behalf of a portion of the delegation of 
that State, seconded the nomination of Lincoln [as 'a man 
who can split rails and maul Democrats'] and the uproar 
that followed was beyond description. Imagine all the 
hogs ever slaughtered in Cincinnati [then the Porkopolis 
of the West], giving their death squeals together, and a 
score of big steam whistles going together (steam at 160 
pounds per inch), and you conceive something of the same 
nature. I thought the Seward yeU could not be surpassed; 
but the Lincoln boys were clearly ahead, and feeling their 
victory, as there was a lull in the storm, they took deep 
breaths all round and gave a concentrated shriek that was 
positively awful, and accompanied it with stamping that 
made every plank and pillar in the building quiver . . . 
The New York, Michigan and Wisconsin delegations sat 
together and were in this tempest very quiet. Many of 



31 



their faces whitened as the Lincoln yawp swelled into a 
wild hosanna of victory . . . ." 

Then came the roll-call of the States in geographical order 
beginning with New England, for the first ballot. The 
vote stood: whole number cast, 465; necessary to a choice, 
233; Seward had 173j^, Lincoln 102, with Cameron of Penn- 
sylvania third with 503^^. There being no choice, the 
convention forthwith proceeded to a second ballot. During 
the balloting it was announced that the name of General 
Cameron of Pennsylvania had been withdrawn. The 
result of the ballot was: Seward, 1843^, a gain of eleven 
votes, and Lincoln, 181, a gain of 79. At this announce- 
ment there was "tremendous applause." Chase of Ohio 
now stood third with 423/^ votes, a loss of six and a half. 
There again being no choice, the third baUot was begun 
amid the most intense excitement. As, however, the con- 
test narrowed down the crowd became silent. Most of the 
delegates and many spectators had tally sheets in order to 
keep track of the balloting as it progressed. When the 
roU of the States had been caUed and every State had voted, 
the ballot stood Seward 180, a loss of four and a half, while 
Lincoln had 23l3/2> ^^^ lacked only one and a half of the 
number necessary to nominate. While these totals were 
being footed up, "a profound stiUness suddenly fell upon the 
Wigwam; the men ceased to talk and the ladies to flutter 
their fans ; one could distinctly hear the scratching of pencils 
and the ticking of telegraph instruments on the reporters' 
tables." 

Before the result could be officially announced, and amid 
great confusion, Mr. Cartter of Ohio sprang to his chair 
and, when the confusion momentarily subsided, announced 
the change of four Ohio votes to Mr. Lincoln. At that moment 
"a man who had been on the roof and was engaged in com- 
municating the result of the ballotings to the mighty mass 

3» 



of outsiders, now demanded by gestures to know what had 
happened. One of the secretaries, with a tally sheet in 
his hands, shouted, Tire the salute! Abe Lincoln is nomin- 
ated!'" Then, says the Tribune report, "A deafening roar 
of stentorian applause arose from the immense multitude 
such as had never been equalled on the American continent 
nor suice the day that the walls of Jericho were blown 
down." 

The change of Ohio's four votes was the signal for a rapid 
succession of "leaps into the band-wagon," in modern 
pohtical parlance, on the part of delegations that had not 
voted for the successful candidate, all of which took place 
amid the wildest demonstrations. "A photograph of Abe 
Lincoln which had hung in one of the side rooms was brought 
in and held up before the screaming masses," who there- 
upon seized the standards on which the names of the States 
were printed, tore them from their moorings, and waved 
them aloft in delirious joy. 

Finally, partial quiet was restored, and the vote was 
officially announced by the Secretary: whole number of 
votes cast, 466; necessary to a choice, 234; for Abraham 
Lincoln of Illinois, 364 votes. The chairman then declared 
"Abraham Lincoln of Illinois is selected as your candidate 
for President of the United States." "Thunders of ap- 
plause," reads the parenthetical and laconic note in the 
official record. But, as John A. Andrew described the 
scene a few days later in a speech in Boston: "There 
arose a peal of human voices, a grand chorus of exultation, 
the like of which has not been heard in earth since the 
morning stars first sang together and the sons of God 
shouted for joy." 

As the cheering inside the Wigwam momentarily 
died down, "we could hear," says Halstead, "the cheering 
outside, where the news of the nomination had just been 

33 



aiyioiinced. And the roar, like the breaking up of the foun- 
tains of the great deep that was heard gave a new impulse 
to the enthusiasm inside. Then the thunders of the salute 
arose above the din, and the shouting was repeated with 
such tremendous fury that some discharges of the cannon 
were absolutely not heard by those on the stage. Puffs 
of smoke, drifting by the open doors and the smell of gun- 
powder told what was going on." 

Anyone who has attended an exciting national conven- 
tion will find it easy to believe the editor of the Tribune 
when he said, "It is absolutely impossible to describe, as it 
is equally impossible for one who was not present to imagine, 
the scene in the Wig^vam when Mr. Lincoln was nominated. 
Without attempting, therefore," he continues, "to convey 
an idea of the delirious cheer, the Babel of joy and excite- 
ment, we may mention that stout men wept like children, 
that two candidates for the gubernatorial chairs of their 
respective States [probably Curtin and Lane], who looked 
to the nomination of Honest Old Abe to carry the Repub- 
lican cause at home through the storm, sank down in 
excess of joy. The tumultuous emotions of men all over the 
platform who had not closed their eyes during the last 
forty-eight hours, trembling between hope and fear, labor- 
ing for what they deemed the best interest of the noblest 
cause under the heaven, acted with electrical effect on the 
immense auditory. Men of stern countenances and strong 
nerves, upon rising to speak, were almost disabled by their 
agitations. Mr. Browning of Illinois will pardon us for 
mentioning his name in this connection. But the scene 
is not to be pictured. It is ever memorable to those who 
witnessed it, and no more can be said." 

Of course, all the delegates did not join in these wild 
outbursts, and I may add that the weeping done was not 
all caused by excess of joy. The Seward men from New 

34 



York and some other States, bitterly disappointed, sat 
quietly in their seats. With the ladies also Seward was the 
almost universal favorite, and we read in the Journal that 
"when the announcement was made that their favorite 
was not nominated, many of the dear creatures wept like 
children." Such "strong and convincing evidence of 
woman's patriotism and woman's ardent love of principle" 
almost persuaded the editor of that paper, himself an ardent 
Seward man, to be in favor of woman's rights in the widest 
sense of the term, and led him to exclaim editorially, "with 
all heart and sympathy in their disappointment, fully and 
feelingly, Heaven bless the ladies." 

The nomination of Lincoln occurred not far from the 
noon hour. After the excitement had somewhat cooled 
or exhausted itself, business was resumed by the convention, 
and several speeches endorsing the nomination were made. 
Then about half past one the convention adjourned to five 
o'clock, at which time it reconvened and nominated Han- 
nibal Hamlin of Maine for Vice-President upon the second 
ballot. Shortly thereafter, "with cheers for the Ticket, 
the Platform and the Ladies of Chicago," the convention 
adjourned, as one delegate with true prophetic instinct 
moved, "to meet at the White House on the Fourth of March 
next." 

The tumultuous demonstration in the Wigwam after 
Lincoln's nomination was only the prelude to the celebra- 
tion in the city that evening after the convention had 
adjourned. A grand rally of Republicans was held in the 
Wigwam which again was crowded to its utmost capacity, 
while about three thousand who were unable to gain admis- 
sion, assembled outside and were addressed by Richard 
Yates, soon to become the famous war-governor of Illinois. 
"Inside, the enthusiasm was [once more] beyond descrip- 
tion." Joshua R. Giddings spoke, followed by Z. K. 

35 



Pangborn, editor of the ancient Whig paper, the Boston 
Atlas, "whose jokes kept the house in roars of laughter 
and applause throughout his address . . . Also despatches 
were read from New York, Philadelphia and other cities 
stating that ratification meetings were assembling, guns 
firing, processions upon parade, etc., throughout the whole 
country." 

Outside the Wigwam Chicago was swept by what Boss 
Barnes of New York would probably call "the gusty pas- 
sions of the mob." One hundred guns were fired from the 
top of the Tremont House, and "their echoes caught up 
and answered from other parts of the city almost as soon 
as their flashes were seen across the night sky. Many 
buildings were illuminated, notably the large warehouse 
of A. Huntington, Wadsworth and Parks, on Lake street, 
with variegated lights in every window, while a banner was 
hung across the street upon which was painted, Tor 
President Abraham Lincoln.'" 

The Press and Tribune building likewise was illuminated 
from "turret to foundation," by the brilHant glare of a 
thousand lights which blazed from windows and doors with 
most attractive and beautiful effect. On each side of the 
counting-room door stood a rail — one of the three thousand 
split by "Honest Old Abe" on the Sangamon River bottoms. 

On the inside were two more, brilliantly hung with tapers, 
whose numberless individual lights glistened like so many 
stars in contrast with the dark walnut color of the wood. 
On the front of the office and over the main door, between 
the second and third stories, was suspended an immense 
transparency with this inscription upon it: "For President, 
Honest Old Abe, For Vice-President, Hannibal Hamlin." 

Bonfires glared red upon the heavens from the streets 
and rockets "clove through the air like fier}' telegrams to 
the stars." The Wide- Awakes were out with gleaming 

36 



torches and glistening capes and caps; crowds collected 
at the several hotels, shouldered fence rails, if they could 
be had, and in default thereof, pressed into service brooms? 
cord- wood, fish poles, and even rakes, and marched through 
the streets to the music of a score of bands. At dark several 
of the triumphal processions united and paraded through 
Clark Street, stopping before the Tribune building to rend 
the air "with soul-inspiring cheers and exclamations of 
victory which awakened a loud response from the honest 
hearts of the one hundred employees of this establishment." 
Verily, "Babel had come again," exclaims one contemporary, 
and "the Democratic Jericho shook at the shouts and blow- 
ing of trumpets and holding of torches in the left hands of 
Republican Gideons." 

The Pennsylvanians in particular knew no bounds to the 
expression of their feelings. Immediately after the conven- 
tion adjourned, they rallied several hundred strong at the 
Briggs House, where their headquarters presented "a scene 
of indescribable joy and excitement." They were eloquently 
addressed by their standard bearer, Andrew G. Curtin. 
They all asserted that Lincoln's nomination would gain them 
the State by at least 25,000 majority. The clouds which 
had darkened their political horizon were swept away and 
they saw the road open to an overwhelming triumph. 
Their feelings excited by "the certainty of such a glorious 
victory carried them almost beyond bounds in the expres- 
sion of their wild anticipations." They were "crazy with 
delight," and declared that they were going home to put 
rail-pens in every school district in the State. They even 
telegraphed, it was said, to Decatur, for the whole fence 
that Old Abe had put up in 1830. 

It is not known how many rails the Pennsylvanians 
secured, but probably not the whole number requisitioned, 
for an enormous demand for these original Lincoln rails 

37 



sprang up forthwith. They were bought up and for- 
warded by express to all parts of the country. Major 
Eggleston, President of the Cincinnati Board of Trade, 
was reported to have paid $20 for a pair of them to send home 
for a glorious ratification. "The lucky owner of the tim- 
ber," comments one contemporary, "has turned his posses- 
sion to account rather more sharply than was fitting the 
occasion, but nothing can frustrate the desire for 'those 
rails.'" 

Here my story ends, for with the departure early Saturday 
morning for Springfield of the committee appointed to 
notify Mr. Lincoln of his nomination; with the setting out 
of hundreds of convention visitors upon special excursions 
to Davenport, Iowa, and other much advertised points in 
the middle West; with the return to their homes of the 
thousands who had come to Chicago from the East and the 
West, the story of the Republican national convention of 
1860 merges into the story of the great presidential cam- 
paign which followed and which was the prologue to the 
Civil War. 



38 



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